Mo. man pleads guilty to tampering in homicide

Jason Davies body dumped in Missouri River in September

A St. Joseph man has pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence in the death of a 38-year-old man whose body was discovered in the Missouri River near Leavenworth, Kan.

The St. Joseph News-Press reported that 55-year-old Billy Wilson confessed when he appeared this week in Buchanan County Circuit Court. Afterward, a judge sentenced him to two years in prison if he testifies against other defendants charged in the September killing of Jason Davies, of St. Joseph.

Police said in court documents that Davies was hit several times with a baseball bat and a frying pan during a struggle, then was dumped in the river. In his confession, Wilson recalled seeing Davies' body and talking to other defendants about using a wheelbarrow to move it.